“And David Flores is the tank, the guy we count on for the tough yards.”

Flores leads the Panthers with 115 carries for 917 yards. Taua has 80 carries for 762 yards. Kelly has carried the ball 44 times for 605 yards. Staicer has 50 carries for 467 yards.

Plus quarterback Josh Davies has 43 carries for 249 yards, including the longest run of the season, a 99-yarder against Mt. Carmel. He has thrown just 68 passes, completing 26 for 382 yards with four TDs and only one interception.

The nice part is that Kelly, Flores and Taua are all juniors and at least two members of the offensive line will return next season.

“The first year with Coach Bottom, we lacked leaders,” Flores said. “Last year, the seniors didn’t really buy into the system.

“This year, I’ve taken the leadership role. I love carrying the load, and the guys have embraced what we’re doing.

“Vista has been bad the last few years. People expected us to be horrible, but I think we’re one of this season’s surprise teams.”

This season’s losses are to No. 9 La Costa Canyon (27-7) before the Mavericks were devastated by injuries, Poway (35-21), Rancho Bernardo (36-31) on a last-play, desperation pass, and No. 5 Carlsbad (28-0). The combined record of those teams is 27-11.

“Last season we were playing for stats, playing for ourselves,” Kelly said. “This year we’re a team.

“We all want to sit at the table and eat. But when we see our boys eating, we get excited. And we want to get in and eat, too.”

Only three of the four are on the field at the same time.

Flores is the fullback, Kelly is a wing or tailback. Taua is the halfback and Staicer is a wing.

“We grew up together, either played together or against each other in Pop Warner,” Staicer said. “So we looked forward to playing together in high school.

“We all have our roles. We know we’re going to rotate into the game, so someone is always fresh.

“It’s very hard for the defense to focus on any one of us.”

Kelly, who has 13 tackles and an interception on defense, averages 13.75 yards a carry, has a long run of 89 yards and a 42-yard pass reception.

Taua, who has 19 tackles on defense, averages 9.53 yards a carry with a long run of 57 yards, a 77-yard pass reception and a 46-yard interception return.

Staicer averages 9.34 yards a carry with a long run of 61.

Flores grinds out the tough yards, averaging 7.9 yards a carry with a long of 48.

“It has all come together because we’ve bought into the system,” said Taua.

“We’ve built a brotherhood. We’re comfortable together. We know there are certain plays for certain guys. There are plays that play to our strengths.

“And we’re happy with each other’s success.

“Because of that, I think we can go far in the playoffs, restore the glory to Vista football.”